


Eyes On The Skies

by ThereIsNoTragedyInThat



Series: On All Fronts [6]
Category: Triple Frontier (2019)
Genre: Boys In Love, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Not my best, One Shot, Reunions, Self-Indulgent, Short & Sweet, not my worst, protective Santiago Garcia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 09:49:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29451834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThereIsNoTragedyInThat/pseuds/ThereIsNoTragedyInThat
Summary: The mission was supposed to be simple, quick in and out.
Relationships: Santiago "Pope" Garcia/Francisco "Catfish" Morales
Series: On All Fronts [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2077473
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	Eyes On The Skies

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Forehead touch

The hard metal of the chair dug into his skin as he sat on the edge of it, fingers settled in a seemingly casual way atop the shiny, sterile table though a close eye would reveal the way they twitched with barely contained agitation. Santiago’s jaw was clenched tight, his eyes being drawn over and over again to the nondescript clock hanging over them like a headman’s axe. The sound was grating on his nerves, the urge to tear if from the wall and smash it, if only to stop the incessant ticking, settling over him heavily.

Next to him, head bowed over his clasped hands, was Will, coping no better than him it seemed. Tom was the only one who seemed to be calm, unaffected by the ticking hands and setting sun, like there wasn’t a gaping hole in their team, a wound sluggishly bleeding from them all.

“They’ll be here,” Tom murmured. “He has another 24 hours before we send out the S.O.S.”

“It was supposed to be a quick in and out,” Will didn’t look up as he spoke, the words coming evenly, like he was stating the weather or what he was having for dinner. Santiago shook his head, knew that was about as close as he ever got to defiant when it came to Tom.

Tom sighed, arms coming to cross over his chest, Santiago couldn’t help but noticed how tired he looked, like they weren’t the only ones that had stopped sleeping after the others missed their rendezvous, “we all know things don’t always go to plan. Fish and Benny are good at what they do, they’ll be fine.”

The sentiment was true, they were the best, that was the point, but it did nothing to stem the ache in his chest that had started the moment he’d watched Frankie slide on his headset and prepare for take off. Nor the nausea in his gut that had hit him like a bullet after he dreamed of that damned helicopter going into a death spin and disappearing into the trees. Then of course, Frankie and Benny missed the checkpoint and the feeling that washed over him and clawed at his back was just a little too close to grief for him to want to acknowledge.

Tom was looking at him.

Santiago lowered his own gaze, afraid of what the other man would see in his face. They weren’t a secret, him and Frankie, not really. Still, it certainly wasn’t as though they announced it, both of them sensing that such a thing might be pushing the boundaries of acceptability. It was dangerous being in a relationship while doing this kind of job and neither of them wanted to put Tom in a position where he’d have to act and separate them.

“Pope-”

He tensed, only for the other man to pause at the sound of footsteps moving swiftly down the hallway outside, the urgency causing their heads to swivel toward the doorway just as the space was filled with a flustered looking Private.

“Um,” she hesitated, and Santiago could feel his heartbeat speed up, a wave of dread moving through him. “I was told to come and-”

“Are they here?” Tom cut her off, the tone of his voice betraying he might not have been as relaxed as he appeared.

“Yes-”

Santiago was on his feet in an instant, Will and Tom right behind him as they practically jogged toward the airfield. The moment he stepped into the sunlight, he could hear the thrumming of the helicopter as he threw a hand up, trying to blink past the too bright sun. The moment he laid eyes on it, Santiago felt his knees go week, almost slipping out from under him.

A weight he hadn’t noticed seemed to lift from his chest and he took his first real breath since learning Francisco hadn’t shown up on time. He kept moving closer, kept trying to catch a glimpse through the windows only to have Tom grab him by the arm, yanking him back as it prepared to land.

He didn’t spare his captain a glance, couldn’t bear to tear his eyes away even as sand and dead grass began flying through the air. The moment the rotor blades slowed to a halt Santiago tried to move forward again, was kept in place by Tom, “not yet, let them climb out.”

Santiago would have argued, wouldn’t have spared Tom a second thought if the doors didn’t open right then and a very familiar face climbed out with a wide grin spread over his lips. Benny was laughing loudly, ushering out the men from the rescue mission and yelling something unintelligible into the helicopter and he had enough presence of mind to glance over at Will who you wouldn’t know was overwhelmed with relief unless you looked at his shaking hands.

Another voice called out as the last of the men stumbled from the heli and Santiago couldn’t wait anymore, “let me go.”

Tom immediately released him and this time as he walked up, he had eyes only on the figure bent low, climbing over from the front. Benny reached out to him, but Santiago just clapped him on the shoulder and then he was there…standing right in front of the man he loved.

Francisco looked a little roughed up, face dirty, bullet proof vest strapped on real tight and it was obvious as day something had gone wrong because he should have never left the pilot seat at all. Yet, there he was, looking at him with an easy grin and an arched eyebrow and Santiago suddenly didn’t know what to do with himself.

“You’re late.”

Frankie laughed, “things turned out to be a bit more exciting than we bargained for.”

“You idiot,” and he grabbed him by his vest and yanked him into a hard hug, buried his face in Frankie’s neck, drowned in the smell of him and the pulse thrumming against his cheek. If the other man was surprised, it didn’t show, one hand coming up to rest on the nape of his neck, only to tug on the little hairs there until he retreated.

Frankie leaned forward then, resting their foreheads together and Santiago had already decided there would be no more missions without him there for backup and as though he knew exactly what he was thinking, Frankie murmured, “so I take it you missed me then?”

Santiago huffed a laugh, “shut up asshole.”


End file.
